Saturday Potpourri – The Armor Binder and Pious Sage (Wizard Archetypes)

The Armor Binder (Wizard Archetype)

At the arcane university there are two types of initiates; the ferals and the house cats. The ferals are those that enter the university to learn the arts, and then go out into the world (or the wild). The house cats are those that stay at the university to study the arts in the quiet and solitude of its environs. The armor binder is a feral cat.

The armor binder is an archetype of the wizard class.

Armor Proficiency

An armor binder is proficient in light armor, but not shields.

This ability changes the wizard’s armor proficiencies and replaces scribe scroll.

Armor of the Mage

An armor binder must choose a suit of armor as his bonded item. The bonded armor cannot be used to store or cast spells for the armor binder. Instead, the armor binder gains the benefit of the Arcane Armor Training feat while wearing his bonded armor.

At 8th level, the armor binder gains the benefit of the Arcane Armor Mastery feat while wearing his bonded armor.

The armor binder must buy the armor, but he receives the masterwork upgrade on his first suit as a bonus. The armor can be replaced, upgraded and restored when damaged as a normal bonded item.

This ability replaces arcane school and bonus school spell slots.

Elemental Defense

At 5th level, the armor binder’s bound armor is bolstered with damage reduction against a single element. The armor binder selects an element, and gains DR 5 against that element when wearing his bound armor.

At 10th level and every five levels thereafter (15th, and 20th level), the armor binder may select an additional element. In addition, at each such interval, he gains an additional +5 to the DR of the elements he has previously selected. Thus, at 20th level, he will have DR 20 against the element he selected at 5th level, DR 15 for the element he selected at 10th, and so on.

This ability replaces the wizard’s 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level bonus feats.

The Pious Sage (Wizard Archetype)

He knows the power of magic. He feels it surging through his veins, crackling at his fingertips and rippling through the air. Still, he is humble before the gods. In them he finds absolution. All things are achieved in their name.

The pious sage is an archetype of the wizard class.

Devotional Domain

While the pious sage derives his power from the arcane arts, he is nonetheless a devout follower of his god. His deity influences his alignment and his values. Although not as tied to the tenets of the deity as a cleric, a pious sage strives to uphold the values of his deity. A pious sage can select one domain from among those belonging to his deity. He can select an alignment domain only if his alignment matches that domain.

The pious sage receives both the domain powers and bonus spell slots from his selected domain. His pious sage level is considered his cleric level with regard to his domain powers and spells granted. He uses his intelligence in place of his wisdom when calculating usage per day and DC of domain powers and spells. His domain spells are casts as arcane spells, although the pious sage must pray for fifteen minutes each morning to gain access to the domain’s bonus spell slots. The domain spells do not enter the pious sage’s spell book. They are the product of his devotion, but may not be sacrificed for a cure spell like a cleric.

In addition to the fifteen minutes each day the pious sage spends in prayer preparing his domain powers and spells, he must spend an hour studying his spellbook as normal in order to cast his wizard spells.

This ability replaces the wizard’s arcane school.

Arcane Bond

The pious sage must select a holy symbol as his bonded object. It functions as a normal bonded object in all ways, except that it can also contain a spell from the pious sage’s domain spell list.

This alters arcane bond.



About mmiller

Mike Miller first discovered RPG’s in the days of TSR. The mention of a beholder or mind flayer still twists his guts with nervous dread, though now with a tinge of nostalgia. He had no publishing experience prior to writing for the OGN, but has long enjoyed creating histories and legends for his homebrewed worlds.

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